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2020 BMW X5 M spy shots

A new generation of the BMW X5 is just around the corner, and once again there will be a high-performance model developed by the M division.

A prototype for the high-performance model, the X5 M, has been spotted for the first time.

It features the large intakes typical of an M car, as well as lowered suspension, huge wheels, and a quad-tip exhaust pipe arrangement.

The current X5 only arrived in 2014, with its own X5 M model arriving in 2015. The reason for the quick changeover is due to BMW introducing a new modular platform across its range. (The current X5 is actually based on a platform that dates back to 2007.)

The modular platform is the SUV version of BMW’s CLAR design that debuted in the 2016 7-Series. The platform should ensure that the redesigned X5, along with the redesigned X5 M, is lighter, tauter and more fun to drive.

Power will come from a reworked version of the current X5 M’s 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-8. This updated mill debuts soon in a redesigned M5 and should have around 600 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque on tap. It should be more fuel-efficient than the current mill, too.

The engine will be mated to an 8-speed automatic and rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. The latter, known as M xDrive, also debuts in the redesigned M5. A highlight of the system is that it allows you to switch into rear-wheel-drive mode, though it’s not clear if this particular feature will be included in the redesigned X5 M.

BMW is expected to introduce its redesigned X5 in 2018. The X5 M should arrive a year later, most likely as a 2020 model. Arriving around the same time should also be an X6 M.